Holder and cigar-shaper.



PATENTED FEB. a, 1903.

S WILLIAMSON HOLDER AND CIGAR SHAPBR APPLICATION FILED my 19, 1902.

- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

no MODEL.

PATENTBD FEB. 3, 1903.

S. S. WILLIAMSON. HOLDER AND CIGAR SHAPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL S. WILLIAMSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOLDER AND ClGAR-SHAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,546, dated February 3, 1903.

Application filed May 19,1902. Serial No. 107,892. No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. WILLIAM- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Holders and Cigar-Shapers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in bunch-holders for expansion cigar-shapers and also for a shaper for which said holder is especially adapted, and has for its object to so improve upon the expansionshaper heretofore devised as to overcome the difficulty experienced in the use of said shapers-namely, the formation of a ridge or protuberance at the point where the body and cap of the'shaper meet-and to make it possible to inspect the cigar-bunch during all the steps of the shaping of the same by having the shaper transparent.

In the shaper devised and patented by J. J. Bach under date of July 4, 1882, No. 260,638, the principal difficulty experienced in the proper shaping of the cigar-bunch was that when the bunch was placed in the body and the cap placed thereover the expansion of the cigar-bunch moved the cap upward from contact with the upper end of the body, and thus left an open space, which gave the bunch an opportunity to expand or bulge at this point, with the consequent result of making an imperfect bunch, which then had to be rolled into shape by hand, and should the bunch become too well set before it was removed from the shaper this protruding portion could not be entirely obliterated, so that when the wrap per was applied an imperfect cigar resulted. The shapers devised and patented by James H. Ogden, United States Patents Nos. 530,794 and 587,600, aimed to overcome this difficulty in the Bach shaper byforming a flange upon the cap adapted to fit over the mouth of the body, and thus be held in place by friction, so that during the time of the expanding of the cigar-bunch said bunch would be so confined that it would not force the cap upward or longitudinally away from the body. The difficulty experienced with this construction is that the interior line of the body and cap must be continuous, and therefore considerable difficulty is experienced in forcing the cigar-bunch into the mouth of the body, and when the cap is placed upon the protruding end of the bunch the crowding of the tobacco downward tends to form a ridge at the junction of the body and cap, so that only bunches of very small diameter can be inserted without tearing the binder,and when such bunches are used the cigar made therefrom is too soft and spongy, as it necessitates the bunch expanding to too great a limit to produce a commercial cigar. In the construction devised by O. E. Doyle and patented June 29, 1897, No. 585,348, with a view of overcoming this disadvantage of both the Bach and Ogden constructions another disadvantage was met with in that where the two flared mouths of both the body and cap come together a pronounced bulge or projecting ring was formed upon the cigar-bunch, and where the slotted cap passed into the flare-mouthed body it has been found that in forcing this cap down upon the protruding end of the cigar-bunch the binder is puckered and forced downward, thus marring the cigar-bunch at that point, which defect must be overcome by hand manipulation after the bunch has been removed from the shaper, and this can never be done so as to entirely overcome the detrimental efiect upon the cigar-bunch.

In my present invention I overcome all of the above-named disadvantages by providing means for holding and compressing the cigarbunch While inserting the same within the body and also while placing the cap thereon; and, furthermore, this holder covers that portion of the cigar-bunch adjacent to thejuncture of the body and cap, and thus prevents it from unduly expanding at thatpoint,by which means I am enabled to use both body and cap with considerable flare at their mouths, thus greatly facilitating the insertion of the cigar-bunch in the body and the placing of the cap upon the protruding end of such bunch.

Another advantage of my invention is that although the cigar-bunch-may expand longitudinally and force the cap upward to a certain degree it in no wise interferes with the proper shaping of the bunch, as the cap is free to go and come without permitting the cigar-bunch to bulge or protrude by over expansion at or adjacent to the mouth of the body and cap.

With these and other ends in view my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

Figure 1 is a sectional view of one form of my improved shaper, showing a cigar-bunch therein and the holder in place, whereby the bunch is prevented from expanding into the recess formed at the meeting of the body and cap; Fig. 2, an end View of the body looking downward within the mouth thereof; Fig. 3, a View of one form of the holderin which the ends thereof overlap each other in confining the cigar-bunch; Fig. 4, a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, showing a slightly-modified form of holder in place within the shaper; Fig. 5, an end view of the body shown in Fig. 4: looking into the mouth thereof; Fig. 6, a crosssection of the form of holder used in Fig. 4:; Fig. 7, a view of a holder similar to that shown in Fig. 3, but so constructed that its ends do not overlap in confining the cigarbunch; Fig. 8, a longitudinal section of a cigar-shaper and a holder therein, the latterof a modified form, so constructed as to completely envelop the cigar-bunch before insertion within the shaper; Fig. 9, an elevation of the holder shown in Fig. 8, a section being swung open; Fig. 10, an end view of the body of the shaper looking into the mouth thereof; Fig. 11, a cross-section of Fig. 9. Fig. 12 represents a holder similar to that shown in Fig. 9, but having an addition thereto; Fig. 13, a cross-section of Fig. 12, showing this addition in the form of a thin piece of flexible metal which passesinside of the opposite section of the holder when the latter is closed. Fig. 14 represents a shaper of the same general form as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the above-referred-to Doyle patent, illustrating my holder in connection therewith.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the body of a shaper, which I prefer to form of glass on account of its transparency, and the interior of this body is of a form which will give the cigar-bunch its proper shape when expanded therein, and B is the cap of the shaper, likewise made of glass, the interior thereof being also of the form to give the upper end of the cigar-bunch the proper shape when expanded therein. The body preferably has a. flared mouth, as indicated at a, and likewise the cap is flared at its mouth, as indicated at b, and the flared mouths of the body and cap are adapted to abut and form a complete shaper after the manner of the abovereferred-to Bach construction. It is obvious that the exterior of both the body and cap may be of the same general shape as the interior thereof, thus requiring less material for their construction; but I have found in practice that a shaper having a straight cylindrical exterior facilitates the handling thereof in the manufacture of cigars and where the shaper is made of glass strengthens the same.

0 represents the holder, which when formed as shown in Fig. 3 is made of spring material-such as sheet brass, steel, celluloid, rubber, or the likeand is so shaped that when compressed or its sides forced inward its ends will overlap, as shown in dotted lines, and produce substantially a true circle, so that when the cigar-bunch has been formed and that portion thereof which would lie adjacent to the mouths of the body and cap has been placed within the holder while open the compression of the holder by the operator will compress that portion of the cigar-bunch lying within the holder and greatly facilitate its insertion within the body of the shaper. As soon as the lower portion of the cigarbunch has been inserted within the body of the shaper and the lower portion of the holder passed within the mouth of the body said holder will be held in its closed position and also held in place by its natural tendency to spring sidewise. Thereafter the cap B of the shaper will be easily placed over the protruding end of the cigar-bunch and also the upper portion of the holder. When the cigarbunch has been thus incased within the shaper and the holder, it will expand, due to the moist condition of the tobacco of which it is formed, until it takes the shape of the interior of the shaper; but it cannot expand beyond this limit, and when left for a sufficient length of time in the shaper it will set and thereafter may be readily removed, the holder springing outward as soon as it is withdrawn from the shaper, thereby freeing the bunch when the latter is in condition for the application of the wrapper. I have found by practical use that the time necessary to set the bu nch while in the shaper is represented by the time necessary for an operator to make about fifteen bunches, and in practice I therefore use a set of fifteen shapers for each operator, and when these fifteen shapers have been filled the cigarbunches are removed therefrom and the wrapper applied thereto, starting from the first of the set which was inserted within the shaper. It is obvious that as the holder extends across the meeting ends of the body and cap the cigar-bunch cannot expand into the space which may be formed by the meeting of these mouths, and while it is true that the expanding of the cigar-bunch not only tends to fill the interior of the shaper, but also to move the cap upward away from the body to a limited degree, the holder permits these longitudinal movements of the cap away .from the body without in any wise interfering with the shaping of the cigar-bunch, since the holder bridges that portion of the shaper to a sufficient extent to preserve substantially the same outline to the interior of the shaper, re-

gardless of any limited longitudinal movement of the cap and body, as will be readily understood by reference to the drawings.

While I have shown the mouths of the body and cap flared to a considerable degree, so as to facilitate the insertion of the bunch and the holder, it is obvious that these flares may be greatly increased relative to that which is here shown without interfering with the proper shaping of the bunch, and by thus greatly increasing these flares the facilities with which the cigar-bunch is manipulated will be greatly increased.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 I have shown a slight modification of the construction just described, which consists in forming longitudinal notches or grooves d in the body A and corresponding notches or grooves e in the body B and making the holder D in two sections, which are hinged together atf, so as to be swung open, as clearly shown in full lines in Fig. 6, for the easy reception of the cigarbunch, and these sections when closed around the bunch form substantially a true circle, as shown in dotted lines in the last-named figure, the edges of the sections abutting or overlapping, as may be found preferable. The notches or grooves 61 and e, just described, are for the purpose of permitting the protruding portion of the hinge of the holder to pass therein without the necessity of unduly enlarging the mouths of the body or cap; but these notches or grooves should not extend longitudinally beyond the ends of the holder, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 7 I have shown the holder 0 as formed of spring material and being of such a width that when compressed or its sides are forced inward in compressing the cigar-bunch the edges of these sides will abut, as clearly shown in dotted lines, thus forming approximately 3. true circle, and this is a desirable form of holder where the material thereof is comparatively thick, as the overlapping of its edges, as shown in Fig. 3, will tend to crease or mark the cigar-bunch unless the material of which the holder is composed should be very thin, as is the case when fine springsteel is used.

In Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 a modified form of holder is shown, in which the sections 9 are made substantially the full length of the cigar to be shaped, and these sections are hinged together, as indicated at h, so that when the cigar-bunch is formed it may be laid within one of the sections and the other section closed thereon and the lower portion of the holder passed within the bodyAand the upper portion closed with the cap B, when the shaper will retain the holder in its closed position and permit the cigar-bunch to be properly shaped therein. When this form of holder is used, the grooves e in the cap may be omitted and only the grooves d formed in the body for the reception of the protruding portion of the hinge h.

In Figs. 12 and 13 I have shown a slight modification of the construction shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11, in which one of the sections 9 of the holder is provided with a thin resilient extension '5, so that when the cigar-bunch is laid within one of these sections'and the other section closed thereon this extension 2' y will pass inside and in contact with the inner surface of the other section, thus preventing the creasing or cutting of the binder of the cigar-bunch at the point of contact between the edges of the sections, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 13.

While I have described the body and cap of the shaper as made of glass, it is obvious that with my improved holder the shaper may be made of any suitable materialsuch as rubber, celluloid, metal, or the like; but this holder is especially adapted for use in connection with a cigar-shaper made in the general form of that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the above-referred-to Doyle patent, and in Fig. 1e I have illustrated its use in connection with a shaper of such general form in which the mouth of the body A is considerably flared, as indicated at m, and the mouth of the cap B correspondingly flared, as indicated at 'n. One of the advantages of flaring these months to a large degree is the facility with which the cigar-bunch may be inserted within the body and the cap placed upon the protruding end thereof, it being seen that the mouths of the body and cap abut and do not overlap, the holder serving to bridge the space formed by these flared mouths.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is- 1. In a device for shaping cigar-bunches, the combination of a body and cap, and a holder adapted to embrace a cigar-bunch, and

serve to prevent undue expansion of said cigar-bunch at the meeting ends of said body and cap.

2. In combination with a cigar-bunch shaper consisting of a body and a cap, a

holder adapted to embrace the cigar-bunch,-

and prevent the undue expansion of said bunch at the meeting edges of said body and cap.

3. In combination with a shaper made in two sections, a holder made of a single piece of resilient or pliable material, adapted to embrace the cigar-bunch and be inserted within the sections of the shaper, and prevent the undue expansion of said bunch at or near the meeting line of the sections of said shaper.

4. In combination with a cigar-bunch shaper made in sections, a holder composed ICC of sections hinged together, said sections adapted to embrace the cigar-bunch and protect it against undue expansion, at or near the meeting line of the sections of the shaper.

5. A cigar-shaper composed of two=sections, each formed of transparent material having a flared month, and a holder adapted to fit within the sections of the shaper and prevent the undue expansion of the cigarbunch at or adjacent to the meeting line of formed in said shaper, as and for the purlo the sections of said shaper. pose set forth.

6. In combination acigar-shaper composed In testimony whereof I have hereunto afof two sections, having longitudinal grooves fixed my signature in the presence of two formed at or near their mouths, a holder subscribing Witnesses.

adapted to embrace the cigar-bunch, said SAMUEL S. WILLIAMSON. holder being composed of two sections hinged Witnesses: together, the protruding portion of the hinge I L. D: HEINRICHS,

adapted to pass Within one of the grooves L. W. MORRISON. 

